There’s nothing worse than spending half your paycheck on a ton of organic fare at Whole Foods, (or your other preferred market that regularly drains your bank account!) only to woefully toss half of it away days later. It happens to the best of us; we go to the grocery store hungry and the next thing we know, we are unloading a month’s worth of food that must be consumed in a week. Talk about pressure!

Lucky for us, though, there are a handful of simple and absolutely brilliant hacks that can seriously extend the life cycles of even the most delicate of foods. In a video produced by So Yummy and posted to its Facebook page, we get a quick crash course on these brilliant food storage tips. Seriously, guys, these are so good, they’ve completely transformed the way we grocery shop, a revelation which has already saved us some dough. Who could say ‘no’ to that?

But, before we dive right into the clip, let’s take a quick look at some of the most intriguing highlights:

The ‘vacuum-free’ vacuum seal hack

If you are lucky enough to own your very own vacuum sealer machine, then you know that the gadget can work miracles when it comes to food longevity, specifically with meats. That said, these doo-dads can run you at least a hundred bucks–and that’s not including those pricey sealer bags.

Fortunately, you can re-create the magic that the vacuum sealer machine performs by simply submerging your ‘Ziploced’ meat in a tub of cold water until all of the air leaves the bag. Once finished, stick the baggie of meat in the freezer to be enjoyed (much) later. Smart!

The ‘mold-free strawberry’ hack

Our strawberries tend to get moldy fast, so when we learned of this trick, we were super stoked! All you need to do is dip the batch of fruit into a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water. This bath should only last seconds! When you’re done, simply stick the strawberries in the fridge and enjoy them for many more days to come!

The ‘bread in the cookie jar’ hack

Boy, do we love cookies, but, boy, do we hate when they go stale! To combat this rude act of nature, simply store your cookies in an airtight container and lay a slice of white bread over the sweets before the lock is fastened. The bread will soak up all the excess air and moisture, protecting the sugary treats in the process. Amazing!

Now that you’ve gotten a taste (get it?!) of how the lifespans of your favorite foods can be extended easily and on the cheap, it’s time for you to learn about the four other featured hacks. To see how you, too, can save your groceries from a trip to the compost pile, be sure to watch So Yummy’s video below. How did we not know about these tricks sooner??

We’d love to hear your take on these food-saving tips and tricks. Which one are you going to try first? Do you know of any other ways you can make your groceries last longer? How often do you grocery shop?